Brut NV
Nice clean mature citrus notes, really crunchy autolysis notes, a hint if toastiness as well. Beautiful ripe grapefruit, lovely texture and breadth, good length and freshness. Really great.
Pas Dosé NV (15,000 bottles, blend the same but an extra year in lees)
Softer and creamier thanks to time on less, a little richer in terms of fruit, but purer more mineral influence. Super fine high quality bubbles.
Brut Rosé NV (40/40/20 pn/ch/pb) NV pn sits on skins very short time
Deep earthy ripe red berries, wonderful mealy richness and savoury complexity. Very complex for an NV rosé.
Brut Satèn 2010 (100% Chardonnay, 40% in Barrique, 4Bar pressure, 3 years on lees, 6g dosage)
Quite intense fruit, lots of ripe citrus and some white peach. Very soft creamy silky elegant, very subtle too. A very different expression of Franciacorta.
EBB 2009 (Chardonnay only in Barrique, 40 months lees, extra brut)
Creamy toasty shell-fish citrus, very complex nose. Much broader expression, quite late on the palate but still good acidity. A little broad and unfocused.
Pas Rosé 2008 (70/30 Pinot noir/Chardonnay, 40 months on lees, 18 months in bottle)
Very focused blood orange precision, hints of roasted nuts, some woody notes too. Spicy wild tomato forest notes, nice sharp raspberry tartness, very interesting again.
Pas Dosé QdE (Questione d’Etichetta) Franciacorta Riserva 2006 (pas dosé, 5 years minimum age on lees)
Too fat, leesy cheesy, broad and not vibrant enough. Interesting, but not a fan.
Satèn 2005 (disgorged 2009)
Still really lovely and fresh, wonderful creamy citrus autolytic notes. Still exceptionally fresh with some gorgeous sherbet sorbet characters going on, more tightness and acid focus than the 2010. Awesome wine.
QdE Pas Dosé 2004 Riserva (disgorged 2010)
It’s nice. But I’m just not convinced about this much Pinot Bianco for the style and time on lees. Maybe I’m just not used to it.
The Intrepid Wino 